The Good Peaches

written by Quiara Alegría Hudes
directed by Laura Kepley
conducted by Brett Mitchell

Run time: TBD

Aurora’s task is simple: deliver a wedding dress to the queen. But when an unexpected storm hits, the young girl finds herself on an adventure beyond her wildest imagination. Music and theater will collide through the bursting swells of a massive storm and in an extraordinary teaming of actors and chamber orchestra. Set amongst the stirring melodies of Benjamin Britten and John Adams, The Good Peaches combines a compelling drama of survival with live music performed by a world class orchestra.

Foreground: Lizan Mitchell (Elder), members of The Cleveland Orchestra. Background, from left to right: members of the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program Class of 2018 (Ensemble), and Yumi Ndhlovu (Aurora). Photo Credit: Roger Mastroianni.

From left to right: Yumi Ndhlovu (Aurora), Lizan Mitchell (Elder), members of the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program Class of 2018 (Ensemble), and members of The Cleveland Orchestra. Photo Credit: Roger Mastroianni.

From left to right: members of the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program Class of 2018 (Ensemble), Associate Conductor Brett Mitchell, and members of The Cleveland Orchestra. Photo Credit: Roger Mastroianni.

From left to right: Lizan Mitchell (Elder), Yumi Ndhlovu (Aurora), Irene Bedard (Mother), members of the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program Class of 2018 (Ensemble), and members of The Cleveland Orchestra. Photo Credit: Roger Mastroianni.

From left to right: Associate Conductor Brett Mitchell, members of the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program Class of 2018 (Ensemble), and members of The Cleveland Orchestra. Photo Credit: Roger Mastroianni.

Artists

Irene Bedard

(Mother) (Inupiaq, Yupik, Metis Cree) was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theater from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Irene was a founding member of the Native American Theater Ensemble, Chuka Lokoli. She has performed on stages all more(Mother) (Inupiaq, Yupik, Metis Cree) was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theater from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Irene was a founding member of the Native American Theater Ensemble, Chuka Lokoli. She has performed on stages all over the Big Apple including the prestigious Public Theater. Irene’s career in film and television credits include Lakota Woman, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe, Grand Ave,Into The West,Smoke Signals and the voice of Disney's Pocahontas. She has received numerous awards from such organizations as First Americans in the Arts, American Indian Film Festival, NAMIC Vision Awards, Diversity Awards, LA Film Festival and Sundance Audience Award. She serves on the Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artists National Diversity Committee, the Native Children’s Survival Advisory Board and the Yellow Springs Community Children’s Center. She is on the National Task Force in support of VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) for the National Congress of the American Indians and attends the NIWRC (National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center) field hearings throughout the United States. More recently, Irene is honored to be working on the Winter Bear Project in Alaska and recently performed with Wes Studi at the historic Colonial Williamsburg to portray the title role Nanyehi in Beloved Woman.

Lizan Mitchell

(Elder) has previously performed at Cleveland Play House in Having Our Say and A Trip to Bountiful. Her career encompasses Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theater, film and television. Most recently, she starred in the New York premiers of Dead and Breathing by Chisa Hutchinson and The First Noel by Lelund Thompson more(Elder) has previously performed at Cleveland Play House in Having Our Say and A Trip to Bountiful. Her career encompasses Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theater, film and television. Most recently, she starred in the New York premiers of Dead and Breathing by Chisa Hutchinson and The First Noel by Lelund Thompson and Jason Webb. On television she was recently featured in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Deadbeat. Lizan has received the Black Theater Alliance Award, Helen Hayes Award and the Audelco Award for Best Actress as well as numerous awards for audiobook narration. She is a founding member of Quick Silver Theater Company, producers of the Playwrights of Color Summit in Geneva, NY in June.

Yumi Ndhlovu

(Aurora ) is a sixth grader at Hathaway Brown School. Born in New York City, Yumi has lived in the Turks and Caicos Islands and now in Cleveland, OH. At CPH she has appeared in The Crucible (Betty Parris) and A Christmas Story (Helen). Most recently, she played the role more(Aurora ) is a sixth grader at Hathaway Brown School. Born in New York City, Yumi has lived in the Turks and Caicos Islands and now in Cleveland, OH. At CPH she has appeared in The Crucible (Betty Parris) and A Christmas Story (Helen). Most recently, she played the role of Young Fiona in Shrek, the Musical with University School and Hathaway Brown. She also was in Shrek, the Musical at Near West Theatre. Yumi has been in seven productions at Heights Youth Theatre including Aladdin, Peter Pan, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The King and I, Annie and The Wiz. Additionally, she was seen in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown at Hathaway Brown Theatre Institute. Yumi also loves songwriting, playing the piano, music video production, her friends and candy. She also wrote and co-produced a music video called “Girls”. Yumi is thrilled to share The Good Peaches stage with her grandmother, Yoko Moore: Assistant Concertmaster with The Cleveland Orchestra. To find out more about Yumi, go to yumindhlovu.com.

Philip Witcomb

(Scenic and Costume Designer) is a British designer based in New York. He has designed over 60 productions on both sides of the Atlantic spanning every scale from intimate studio shows to main house stages and from commercial multi-venue tours to large open-air productions. Productions include: Little Shop of Horrorsmore(Scenic and Costume Designer) is a British designer based in New York. He has designed over 60 productions on both sides of the Atlantic spanning every scale from intimate studio shows to main house stages and from commercial multi-venue tours to large open-air productions. Productions include: Little Shop of Horrors (Cleveland Play House) Legally Blonde, Singin’ In The Rain and South Pacific (Kilworth House Theatre); The Winter’s Tale (Peoples Light & Theatre); A Wind in The Willows Christmas (Two River Theatre); Amadeus (Maltz Jupiter Theatre, nominated for Best Design – Carbonell Awards); 9 to 5 The Musical (Northshore Music Theatre); In The Next Room, or the vibrator play (Actors Theatre of Louisville and Milwaukee Rep); Much Ado About Nothing and The Tempest (Regents Park Open Air Theatre); The White Devil (Menier Chocolate Factory, nominated for Best Production – Whatsonstage Theatre Awards); Love in a Maze (Watermill Theatre, nominated for Best Design – TMA Theatre Awards); Beauty and the Beast (Citizens Theatre, nominated for Best Production – C.A.T.S Awards); The New York production of Death in Venice (Citizens Theatre, Time Out New York’s ‘10 Best in Theatre’) and Cinderella (Dundee Rep, nominated for Best Design and Best Production – C.A.T.S Awards). Philip was one of twelve finalists selected for The Linbury Prize, the United Kingdom's most prestigious award for stage design, culminating in an exhibition of his work at the Royal National Theatre in London.

John Adams

(Composer Shaker Loops) is one of the best known and most often performed of America's composers. As Andrew Porter wrote in The New Yorker, Adams is the creator of a "flexible new language capable of producing large-scale works that are both attractive and strongly fashioned. His is a music whose more(Composer Shaker Loops) is one of the best known and most often performed of America's composers. As Andrew Porter wrote in The New Yorker, Adams is the creator of a "flexible new language capable of producing large-scale works that are both attractive and strongly fashioned. His is a music whose highly polished resonant sound is wonderful." Le Monde says that his music "...gives the impression of a rediscovered liberty, of an open door which lets in the fresh air in great gusts." His creative output spans a wide range of media: works for orchestra, opera, video, film, and dance, as well as electronic and instrumental music. Such pieces as Harmonium, Harmonielehre, ShakerLoops and The Chairman Dances are among the best known and most frequently performed of contemporary American music. In these works he has taken minimalism into a new and fresh terrain characterized by luminous sonorities and a powerful and dramatic approach to form. Adams' works have been programmed by every major orchestra in the United States as well as orchestras throughout Europe, Asia and Australia. His music has also been choreographed by numerous dance companies including Dance Theater of Harlem (Garth Fagan) and the New York City Ballet (Peter Martins). Adams' operas have been among the more controversial and widely seen stage events in recent history. In 2003 Lincoln Center presented a festival entitled "John Adams: An American Master," the most extensive festival ever mounted at Lincoln Center devoted to a living composer. Other festivals of his music have been presented in London and in Rotterdam, as well as in Stockholm.

Michael Boll

(Lighting Designer) Cleveland Play House productions include: The Invisible Hand; These Mortal Hosts; The Good Peaches; A Christmas Story; The Little Foxes; Venus in Fur; Every Good Boy Deserves Favor; In the Next Room, or the vibrator play; and Stew and the Negro Problem. CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program credits include: more(Lighting Designer) Cleveland Play House productions include: The Invisible Hand; These Mortal Hosts; The Good Peaches; A Christmas Story; The Little Foxes; Venus in Fur; Every Good Boy Deserves Favor; In the Next Room, or the vibrator play; and Stew and the Negro Problem. CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program credits include: Metamorphoses, Too True To Be Good, Identity Theft, The Winter's Tale, In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, An Orchard, Cloud 9 and Angels in America: Millennium Approaches. Cleveland lighting design work includes Cleveland Public Theatre, Cain Park, Cleveland Museum of Art, Karamu House, Dobama Theatre and Beck Center for the Arts. Off-Broadway credits include The Moliere Cycle (Classic Stage Company), Songs for a New World (George Street Playhouse), Dog Sees God (SoHo Playhouse) and The Moonlight Room (Associate Lighting Designer, Beckett Theatre). His work has also been seen at the N.Y. Fringe Festival, La MaMa E.T.C., HERE Arts Center, and Yale Cabaret.

Benjamin Britten

(Composer Four Sea Interludes) Benjamin Britten is widely regarded as the greatest British composer of his generation: a master of dramatic music in the forms of opera, choral and orchestral works. Often alienated by the prevailing musical establishment, Britten brought into his music influences from European and American contemporary composers, more(Composer Four Sea Interludes) Benjamin Britten is widely regarded as the greatest British composer of his generation: a master of dramatic music in the forms of opera, choral and orchestral works. Often alienated by the prevailing musical establishment, Britten brought into his music influences from European and American contemporary composers, as well as Balinese gamelan. He was equally adept at writing for professionals, amateurs and children, and composed prolifically throughout his life until illness curtailed his activities. He was awarded a life peerage in 1976, becoming Baron Britten of Aldeburgh where he lived for more than thirty years and founded the famous festival in 1948.

Jennifer Matheson Collins

(Stage Manager) stage managed Cleveland Play Houseproductions of The Good Peaches, Luna Gale, Ken Ludwig’sA Comedy of Tenors, Fairfield, Maurice Hines is Tappin’ Thru Life, Informed Consent, Breath and Imagination, A Christmas Story, Woody Sez, Rich Girl, The Devil’s Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith, Amore(Stage Manager) stage managed Cleveland Play Houseproductions of The Good Peaches, Luna Gale, Ken Ludwig’sA Comedy of Tenors, Fairfield, Maurice Hines is Tappin’ Thru Life, Informed Consent, Breath and Imagination, A Christmas Story, Woody Sez, Rich Girl, The Devil’s Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith, A Carol for Cleveland, A Night With Janis Joplin (at both CPH and Arena Stage inWashington, D.C.), The Trip to Bountiful and This Wonderful Life. Other recent credits include: Angels in America (Millennium Approaches andPerestroika), A Christmas Carol, The Santaland Diaries, and The Who and the What (Kansas City RepertoryTheatre). Previously, she was a full-time facultymember at Northwestern University, overseeingthe stage management program. From 2000 to2007, she was a resident stage manager atChicago Shakespeare Theater on Navy Pier,where selected credits include Passion, Marionette Macbeth, Hamlet, Seussical the Musical, A Flea in Her Ear, Kabuki Lady Macbeth, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George and Pacific Overtures. Other Chicago credits include Death of a Salesman, Waiting for Godot, Floyd Collins, Jitney, The Odyssey and A Christmas Carol (Goodman Theatre). She earned a Bachelor ofScience, Theatre and a Bachelor of Arts,Anthropology from Kansas State University andis a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Quiara Alegría Hudes

(Playwright) is the recipient of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Broadway: In the Heights (2008 Tony Award for Best Musical, Tony nomination for Best Book, Pulitzer Finalist). Off-Broadway: Water by the Spoonful (Pulitzer Prize), In the Heights (Lucille Lortel Award, Outer Critics Circle Award), The Happiest Song Playsmore(Playwright) is the recipient of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Broadway: In the Heights (2008 Tony Award for Best Musical, Tony nomination for Best Book, Pulitzer Finalist). Off-Broadway: Water by the Spoonful (Pulitzer Prize), In the Heights (Lucille Lortel Award, Outer Critics Circle Award), The Happiest Song Plays Last, Daphne’s Dive (upcoming, Signature Theatre). Off-Off-Broadway: Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue (Pulitzer Finalist). Regional: 26 Miles (Alliance Theatre), Barrio Grrrl! (Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts). National tours: In the Heights and Barrio Grrrl! Other Honors: Playwright in Residence at Signature Theatre, The Roe Green Award, The United States Artists Fontanals Fellowship. B.A. from Yale, M.F.A. from Brown, where she studied with Paula Vogel. Board Member at Philadelphia Young Playwrights, which produced her first play in the tenth grade.

Laura Kepley

(Director) became Artistic Director of Cleveland Play House in 2013 and has directed numerous CPH mainstage productions including The Diary of Anne Frank; Shakespeare in Love; The Crucible; Steel Magnolias;The Good Peaches (world premiere); Fairfield (world premiere); How I Learned to Drive (also at Syracuse Stage); The Little Foxes; more(Director) became Artistic Director of Cleveland Play House in 2013 and has directed numerous CPH mainstage productions including The Diary of Anne Frank; Shakespeare in Love; The Crucible; Steel Magnolias;The Good Peaches (world premiere); Fairfield (world premiere); How I Learned to Drive (also at Syracuse Stage); The Little Foxes; Venus in Fur; Good People (also at Syracuse Stage); A Carol for Cleveland (world premiere); In the Next Room, or the vibrator play; My Name is Asher Lev and CPH readings of Roe Green Award-winning plays Tiny Houses; The Chinese Lady; Soups, Stews and Casseroles: 1976; Marjorie Prime and Daphne’s Dive. She joined CPH in 2010, having arrived from Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, Rhode Island where she was Resident Director and Artistic Associate for four seasons and Interim Director of the Brown/Trinity Rep M.F.A. in Directing Program for one. She has also directed for The Alliance Theatre, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Chautauqua Theater Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Contemporary American Theatre Festival, and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, among others. A native Ohioan, Laura received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and her Master of Fine Arts from Brown University/Trinity Rep. She is a Drama League Fellow and a recipient of the 2009-2011 National Endowment for the Arts/Theatre Communications Group Career Development Program for Directors.

Brett Mitchell

(Music Director/Conductor) is in his third year as a member of The Cleveland Orchestra’s conducting staff and as Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. His contract has been extended through the 2016-17 season, with his title raised from Assistant Conductor to Associate Conductor. He holds the Elizabeth Ring more(Music Director/Conductor) is in his third year as a member of The Cleveland Orchestra’s conducting staff and as Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. His contract has been extended through the 2016-17 season, with his title raised from Assistant Conductor to Associate Conductor. He holds the Elizabeth Ring and William Gwinn Mather Endowed Conductor Chair. Mr. Mitchell serves as Cover Conductor for Severance Hall and Blossom Music Festival concerts and provides assistance to Music Director Franz Welser-Möst, as well as leading many education and community performances throughout the year. In June 2015, he led the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra in the ensemble’s second international tour to China. As a guest conductor, Mr. Mitchell leads performances throughout North America, Europe and Asia, with recent and upcoming appearances including the orchestras of Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Oregon, Rochester, Saint Paul, Washington D.C. and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, among others. He has also acted as Musical Assistant and Cover Conductor with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Prior to his appointment in Cleveland, Mr. Mitchell served as Assistant Conductor of the Houston Symphony (2007-11), and was an Assistant Conductor to Kurt Masur at the Orchestre National de France (2006-09). A native of Seattle, Brett Mitchell holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was also Music Director of the University Orchestra. He earned a bachelor of music degree in composition from Western Washington University.

Maryann Morris

(Assistant Stage Manager) is a Cleveland native who most recently Stage Managed for CPH’s The Royale, The Diary of Anne Frank, ASM’ed The Good Peaches, hand-over SM’ed A Christmas Story and ASM’ed How I Learned to Drive, as well as Stage Managing several CPH New Ground Theatre works such asmore(Assistant Stage Manager) is a Cleveland native who most recently Stage Managed for CPH’s The Royale, The Diary of Anne Frank, ASM’ed The Good Peaches, hand-over SM’ed A Christmas Story and ASM’ed How I Learned to Drive, as well as Stage Managing several CPH New Ground Theatre works such as Grand Concourse and Fairfield. Other current and recent collaborations include Letters from Zora featuring Vanessa Bell Calloway at Karamu House, Havana Hop with Paige Hernandez, Eric Schmiedl’s stage adaptation of the graphic novel Incognegro by Mat Johnson, My Mother Has 4 Noses with Jonatha Brooke, The Dazzle Awards at Playhouse Square, and May 4th Voices presented by The Maltz Museum of Jewish History and Kent State University's Democracy Symposium. She is happy to also continue her work in CPH's own Production Center.

Nathan Motta

(Music Consultant ) is the Artistic Director at Dobama Theatre where he’s directed critically acclaimed productions of An Octoroon, The Flick, How to Be a Respectable Junkie, Peter and the Starcatcher, Marie Antoinette, A Bright New Boise, The Lyons, Time Stands Still, The Aliens, A Civil War Christmas: An Americanmore(Music Consultant ) is the Artistic Director at Dobama Theatre where he’s directed critically acclaimed productions of An Octoroon, The Flick, How to Be a Respectable Junkie, Peter and the Starcatcher, Marie Antoinette, A Bright New Boise, The Lyons, Time Stands Still, The Aliens, A Civil War Christmas: An American Musical Celebration, and Superior Donuts. Mr. Motta acted as Assistant Director on the CPH productions of Brecht’s Galileo and Tom Stoppard’s Every Good Boy Deserves Favor, a collaborative production with the Cleveland Orchestra. He's also served as music director at CPH for A Carol for Cleveland and Steel Magnolias. A professional director, conductor and composer/lyricist; Motta has worked with Cleveland Play House, Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Oberlin College, John Carroll University, Cleveland State, Ohio Light Opera, Cain Park, The Cleveland Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Mercury Opera Rochester, Civic Light Opera (Pittsburgh), and Opera Cleveland. He has written two original musicals: Little White Gloves and Midsummer (based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream). Mr. Motta is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and holds a B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University and an M.M. from the Eastman School of Music.

David Shimotakahara

(Choreographer ) is the Founder and Artistic Director of GroundWorks DanceTheater. The company is dedicated to creating and producing new dance in collaboration with other disciplines. In 2010 Shimotakahara choreographed an acclaimed new adaptation of Stravinsky’s A Soldiers’ Tale in collaboration with Cleveland Play House and the Cleveland Orchestra. more(Choreographer ) is the Founder and Artistic Director of GroundWorks DanceTheater. The company is dedicated to creating and producing new dance in collaboration with other disciplines. In 2010 Shimotakahara choreographed an acclaimed new adaptation of Stravinsky’s A Soldiers’ Tale in collaboration with Cleveland Play House and the Cleveland Orchestra. In 2015 he again collaborated with CPH and the Orchestra on The Good Peaches for CPH’s New Ground Theatre Festival under the direction of Laura Kepley. He is grateful to continue working so creatively with Laura at the Playhouse for this reimagining of Shakespeare in Love. Shimotakahara was awarded the 2000 Cleveland Arts Prize for Dance. He has received 7 Individual Artist Fellowships for Choreography from the Ohio Arts Council. In both 2010 and 2014 Shimotakahara was a recipient a Creative Workforce Fellowship, a program of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture, funded by Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

James C. Swonger

(Sound Designer ) has designed sound for over 50 Cleveland Play House productions including The Good Peaches (world premiere); Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; Breath and Imagination; Venus in Fur; Good People; The Devil’s Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith; Bell, Book and Candle; The Game’smore(Sound Designer ) has designed sound for over 50 Cleveland Play House productions including The Good Peaches (world premiere); Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; Breath and Imagination; Venus in Fur; Good People; The Devil’s Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith; Bell, Book and Candle; The Game’s Afoot (world premiere); Bill W. and Dr. Bob; Heaven’s My Destination (world premiere); Crime and Punishment; Noises Off!; Gee’s Bend; The Chosen; and I Am My Own Wife. CWRU/CPH MFA Acting Program credits include The Philadelphia Story, The Three Sisters, Twelfth Night, and An Orchard. Additional credits include Cleveland’s Lyric Opera Company, Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre, Pioneer Theatre Company, Centerstage Theatre, George Street Playhouse, Yale Repertory Theatre, Cleveland State University Summer Stages, and premiere productions of why i had to dance, The Tragic Demise of the Whaleship Essex and Swinging on a Star: A Tribute to the Music of Johnny Burke.

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From left to right: Associate Conductor Brett Mitchell, members of the Case Western Reserve University/Cleveland Play House MFA Acting Program Class of 2018 (Ensemble), and members of The Cleveland Orchestra. Photo Credit: Roger Mastroianni.